Animal Welfare

A month after the controversial signing of convicted dogfighter Michael Vick, the Eagles yesterday circulated a draft plan to animal-rights groups that calls for an immediate, widespread campaign to combat animal abuse in Philadelphia. According to the proposal, obtained by The Inquirer, the team plans a range of new animal-welfare activities, including deployment of Eagles players and cheerleaders to schools and community events and a mobile animal-care van to at-risk areas. The van could be called the Pet Mobile.

HARRISBURG - Without fresh revenue, a fund that plays a vital role in protecting dogs in Pennsylvania will run out of money by next year, state officials say. Battered by a multi-million-dollar fund transfer in 2010, plummeting interest rates and stagnant dog license sales, the state's "restricted" account, created to pay for a range of animal welfare-related services, is shrinking fast. State officials say the Dog Law Restricted Account, which in 2007 had a $14 million balance, may run out of money in 2013.

- Attributed to American financier John P. Grier, banker Andrew W. Mellon and writer Clare Boothe Luce, among others .   THE Michael Vick Salvage Project that divided the Eagles fan base also fractured the animal-welfare community, with the Humane Society of the United States in the doghouse with some who oppose HSUS' deal to work with the felonious quarterback. In a 2 1/2-hour meeting yesterday, the divided met the fractured. For visuals, think Grand Canyon and San Andreas Fault.

For the second time in two months, a Burlington County animal-rights activist is facing charges stemming from his pursuit of animal-welfare cases. John Dobran, who was convicted of horse theft Nov. 24 while pressing an animal-cruelty case in Southampton Township Municipal Court, faces two charges of animal cruelty and two charges of misrepresenting himself while he was at a Springfield Township farm. At the same time, Dobran is pressing animal-cruelty charges against one of his accusers.

A small canister has created a big fuss between two groups interested in helping animals and has left an unlikely state agency - the Liquor Control Board - in the middle of the squabble. The problem erupted when the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was bothered by the language used by a smaller group called Spay and Save Inc. on donation canisters placed in State Stores. Eileen Chamberlain, vice president of Spay and Save, a volunteer operation that tries to get pet owners from poor communities to spay and neuter animals, said the LCB sided with the SPCA and ordered the cans removed from store counters earlier this week.

The Delaware County Council has appointed eight people to the Animal Protection Board, which will oversee construction of a new animal-control facility in Darby Township. Last year, the SPCA gave notice that it would no longer continue municipal animal-control contracts starting this summer. The Media-based shelter and the council reached a deal to extend the contracts by six months. The new facility, on Calcon Hook Road, is scheduled for completion by December. The county is seeking to establish a nonprofit to run the shelter, said Councilman Mario J. Civera.

A veterinary student from Bala Cynwyd has received a $100,000 inspiration award that will allow her to do postgraduate work in farm-animal welfare. Rachel Toaff-Rosenstein, 26, a fourth-year student at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, was presented with a Penn Vet Student Inspiration Award on Tuesday during ceremonies in Philadelphia. She and another student - Warren Waybright, of Gettysburg, Pa. - were picked from among 21 applicants, said Alan M. Kelly, the school's dean emeritus, who chaired the selection panel.

Karolyn Smith wants the township to pass an animal-protection ordinance because she believes that the state and federal agencies that regulate animal welfare don't do enough. Armed with 155 supportive signatures from other residents, the Concord woman asked the supervisors at Tuesday's meeting to pass a measure with strict standards for the care of dogs and cats at kennels and pet stores. "It's easier to have a law on the books than later, to try to (pass) one should problems arise," she said.

A torrent of bad press and fan outrage over the signing last summer of convicted animal abuser Michael Vick pushed the Philadelphia Eagles into the animal-welfare business. In September, the team rolled out a sweeping plan to combat dogfighting and animal abuse in Southeastern Pennsylvania with a slew of initiatives promising to "leverage the Eagles' brand" on behalf of animals, as it has with other causes such as breast cancer, literacy, and the environment. An Eagles Web site was launched to promote the program, called Treating Animals With Kindness (TAWK)

IN SHERMON Kerr's vegetarian society ("The veal deal," May 3), he quotes as fact a wide variety of incorrect information apparently from a New York-based animal-rights group. This group disguises itself as an animal-welfare group, but in reality it is a radical animal activist group that believes any tactic is worth it for its stated agenda of a meat-free world. All you have to do to discover this group's true agenda is to listen to their own founder's quotes. Discussing the dairy industry in a January 1997 Vegetarian Times article, Gene Bauston made the stunning statement that "there is implicitly no humane milk.

I've been having some crappy mornings lately - literally. I walk out my door, admire the contrast of the cherry blossoms against the crisp blue sky, and then hobble over a fresh mound of dog droppings. The Spring Garden section of Philadelphia is scattered with such treasures, occasionally encased in blue plastic bags. On trash day, I return home to a recycling bin containing at least three of these goody bags to bring back into the house. Let's face it: Dealing with dog waste, whether you own a dog or not, is a fact of life.

A GAME OF Executive Musical Chairs in the animal-welfare world has slowed progress toward making this a "no-kill" city. After less than three years on the job, Pennsylvania SPCA CEO Sue Cosby resigned in order to run the Animal Care and Control Team (ACCT), a soon-to-expire subsidiary of the PSPCA, which now is seeking a new top dog - its third leader since 2007. A new ACCT starts as a city-created, city-related nonprofit agency on April 1, which is no joke. There are no laughs for the 30,000 dogs and cats that annually languish in cages in the city's shelter.

Actress, writer, and comedienne Betty White had thousands of library workers roaring with laughter Saturday afternoon as she turned her sharp wit on her long and successful career. The 90-year-old White gave this take on how she got cast as Sue Ann Nivens in The Mary Tyler Moore Show : "They wanted a sickeningly sweet Betty White type. Guess they couldn't find anyone sickeningly sweet enough. " Her description of Sue Ann: "The neighborhood nymphomaniac. " White's appearance was a public interview with questions posed to her by the Public Library Association's Brendan Dowling as thousands of members crowded in the Terrace Ballroom to hear her answers.

Actress, writer and comedienne Betty White had thousands of library workers roaring with laughter Saturday afternoon at an appearance ending the national conference of the Public Library Association. Turning her sharp wit toward herself, the 90-year-old White poked fun at her own long acting career. As to why she got cast in the "Mary Tyler Moore Show": "They wanted a sickeningly sweet Betty White type," she said of Sue Ann Nivens, her character. "Guess they couldn't find anyone sickeningly sweet enough.

HARRISBURG - Without fresh revenue, a fund that plays a vital role in protecting dogs in Pennsylvania will run out of money by next year, state officials say. Battered by a multi-million-dollar fund transfer in 2010, plummeting interest rates and stagnant dog license sales, the state's "restricted" account, created to pay for a range of animal welfare-related services, is shrinking fast. State officials say the Dog Law Restricted Account, which in 2007 had a $14 million balance, may run out of money in 2013.

When the Almost Home Animal Shelter opened in 2006, it was supposed to be temporary. But the problem of unwanted, abandoned, or abused pets endures. So does the privately run shelter in Pennsauken, which lately finds itself struggling as cases and costs rise, and donations and adoptions decline. The washer and the dryer recently broke down, too. "We're doing the best we can, but we're in danger of closing. Very shortly," executive director Nancy Welsh says amid a cacophony of canine, feline, and telephone sounds, none of which cease during my visit Monday.

BARCELONA, Spain - Matadors drove the killing sword into bulls for the last time yesterday in Spain's powerful northeastern region of Catalonia. Three of Spain's top bullfighters, including No. 1 Jose Tomas, starred in the sold-out show at Barcelona's 20,000-seat Monumental ring. Many fans then invaded the ring to grab handfuls of sand to keep as souvenirs. The bullfighters were later carried shoulder high from the ring into the streets outside the bullring while the crowd chanted slogans in favor of freedom and against the prohibition.

The Delaware County Council has appointed eight people to the Animal Protection Board, which will oversee construction of a new animal-control facility in Darby Township. Last year, the SPCA gave notice that it would no longer continue municipal animal-control contracts starting this summer. The Media-based shelter and the council reached a deal to extend the contracts by six months. The new facility, on Calcon Hook Road, is scheduled for completion by December. The county is seeking to establish a nonprofit to run the shelter, said Councilman Mario J. Civera.

Animal-welfare agents raided a Northeast Philadelphia home Tuesday and found about 40 cats, including two dead ones, being hoarded by a woman who has been active with rescuing cats. "The basement was horrendous," said George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the Pennsylvania SPCA. About 25 rescue cats were being kept in the basement, which reeked of urine and was covered in feces. The rest of the cats, which the woman apparently considered her pets, were in the upstairs, which Bengal said was in "decent" condition even though "there were cats in every room.

Animal-rights activists were divided Tuesday night over Michael Vick's promotion to Eagles starting quarterback. Tom Hickey Sr., who was critical of the team's original decision to sign Michael Vick, expressed renewed outrage over the Eagles' decision. "This is just another disappointing move of many that the Eagles have done since they signed him," said Hickey, a member of the Pennsylvania Dog Law Advisory board and founder of DogPAC, an animal welfare organization. "The same hands that just three years ago were torturing and killing animals in the most brutal possible ways are now going to be given a starting job because he can throw a football.